Granite Springs Blog

Granite Springs Blog recently sat down with the three hosts of the Curious Church Podcast, a new Granite Springs podcast, to learn more about how they hope their on-air conversations will make the church a little less strange and a little more like home for those who listen.

WHO WOULD YOU SAY THE CURIOUS CHURCH PODCAST IS FOR?

Matt – The podcast is for anyone who is curious about this thing called “Church” and the beliefs which it holds. We aspire (emphasis on aspire) to engage openly and honestly with the bits and pieces of our faith that we sometimes forget are strange.

Aaron – This show is for people who like conversations and have questions about what church is in a playful environment.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR THE PODCAST TO BE CONNECTED TO THE CHURCH?

Sam – The idea was to be rooted in a particular context and ministry setting, but to create a listening experience that would transcend that context so anyone could listen and feel included.

Matt – I think it’s valuable for it to come out of the Church as a means of sharing with people that the Church is actually a safe place to be curious. The Christian faith has been around for some millennia now and can handle our questions, doubts and puzzlement.

WHY CHOOSE PODCASTING AS A WAY TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS?

Aaron – Podcasts are essentially eternal mediums. They can reach almost anywhere and last almost forever. Also for me personally, podcasts touch on something different and I feel like going on the journey of a conversation is a helpful way for me to learn things.

Sam – Mostly because people are busy. We wanted to deliver the conversation to our listeners in a way that was easy and didn’t require them to come back to church at seven o’clock on Wednesday evening. Now people can join in anywhere and at any time.

WHY DO YOU FEEL LIKE THERE IS A DESIRE TO HAVE THESE TYPES OF CONVERSATIONS IN THE CHURCH?

Aaron – I feel like it’s unifying for us, as Christ-followers to be asking questions. We’re not all asking the exact same questions, but curiosity is one sign of a healthy believer. We weren’t created to be do-gooder zombies; we live in a vast, complicated, and rich world, and this beauty and complexity, especially when orbiting the church, are good gifts and we should seek and wonder.

WHY IS IT GOOD TO MAINTAIN A POSTURE OF CURIOSITY ABOUT THE CHURCH?

Matt – Because the Church can handle it and we cannot handle not being curious. Honestly, the Church does weird things, but she’s been around for a long time and (mostly) has reasons. If we refuse to be curious, we bottle up all our doubts and questions until they explode in unhealthy and destructive ways.

Sam – It keeps us sensitive to the “odd” nature of the church. Recognizing that the church is “odd” or “strange” keeps us with our hospitality foot forward. We were also made to learn and grow. Being curious is part of what it means to be human. We encourage human flourishing – therefore, we encourage curiosity.

WHAT UNIQUE SEGMENTS CAN LISTENERS LOOK FORWARD TO?

Aaron – I like “I Like It!” where we each bring to the conversation something we recently encountered that captures our interest.

Sam – “Apple Talk”, which is not about computers by the way. Think more honey crisp.

Matt – I guess I love complaining because “What’s Your Beef?” has been a highlight. Sorry Fast Food Workers of America.

Curious about the podcast yet?

Curious Church Podcast officially launched in September of 2016, and has now released three episodes you can download on iTunes or listen through the Granite Springs Church website.

All three hosts work at Granite Springs Church – Sam Gutierrez is the Director of Spiritual Formation, Aaron Antoon is the Director of Music and Technical Arts, and Matt Timms is the Worship Coordinator.

5 thoughts on “Introducing Curious Church Podcast”

I’m not sure I understand. I listened to the first one, will you be discussing theology or anything like that in the future? I listen to a lot of Podcasts that include sermons, theology, etc. I also listen to the Love and Respect podcast. This first one just seemed like random talking?

Yes, in future episodes the Podcast is going to cover all kinds of questions (the second episode talks about enemies and the Psalms, and the third episode talks about caring for young people in church). The hope is to both have good, open conversations while also having some fun because we think those actually go together!

I must be one of the avid 40 listeners! This last one on worship and spiritual formation is my favorite episode so far, or at least it hit me with something I have been experiencing and perhaps even awakened to in the last years. So thanks for taking this on and discussing and getting folks ok with being “curious” about it. I agree that this “growing” in worship is more often slow and not immediately noticed. It brought to mind a book I read years ago when singing with a praise team. Our leader had us studying and discussing it as a team. It is called “The Adventure of Worship; Discovering your Highest Calling” by Gerrit Gustafson. Worship is a glorious adventure.